Tag Archives: weight loss plan

Welcome Back… good to see you again and thanks for dropping by. Before making my final selection as to which weight loss program I am going to try first, I wanted to make sure I had my priorities straight and was making my choice based not upon hope, or a glossy ad campaign, or some false impression of my needs or my ability.

I think the most challenging part of this process was one I borrowed from the famous 12 step program, step #4. I needed to make a “searching and fearless moral inventory of myself.” It was from this fearless inventory that I came up with the recognition that inspired the title of this blog. I pride myself on my character and my inner strength in most areas of my life but when it comes to food and diet, I am indeed a weak-willed fat guy. I feel much better admitting it actually, I don’t feel nearly so alone for some reason. Trying to force an unworkable diet on me, one that’s totally incompatible with who I am can be a very lonely feeling believe it or not.

From this, I came up with the criteria for this weight loss program and, as it turns out, they really aren’t rules at all. They are more just an acknowledgment and acceptance of who I am. It finally dawned on me that the only weight loss program that is going to work for me, is one that doesn’t require me to work against the grain of who I am. Rather than fit me into a weight loss program, this time I am going to find a weight loss program that fits into who I am. To do otherwise is to court failure. So, here are the criteria.

1 I need to be able to eat what I want, when I want. If I don’t then I know I will just be biding my time until the diet is over so I can start eating again and that spells failure. So this is a deal breaker as far as I am concerned.

2. It can’t take any time out of my already busy life. I am willing to exercise more but only if it’s fun and I can find the time. I would be kidding myself to expect that I suddenly would have the initiative and the time to exercise as much as I perhaps should. I’ve tried getting into routines and it simply hasn’t lasted so I’m not going to expect that of myself either.

3. No meetings or sessions.

Boy, just reading that pretty much looks like a failure waiting to happen. Still, other diets and weight loss programs I have tried have all failed for these very same reasons so why make another attempt if I already know the outcome based upon a very simple reality. I have a very clearly defined set of behaviors and unless I can find a nutritional strategy to fit within them or somehow figure out how to change how I respond to food, then I might as well accept my fate.

This process has brought me to a very significant and pivotal place in my life. For the first time ever, I think I finally get it. Being fat isn’t about the food, it’s about me. It’s not what I eat, its how much I eat and perhaps even more importantly still, it’s about WHY I eat.

It’s amazing but I suddenly feel a sense of relief. It’s almost funny but I do, I feel a great sense of relief as I consider this new paradigm. Take the focus off the food. Eliminate the whole thought process of having to give up something I love and suddenly I don’t feel so negative about it…. suddenly I feel hope begin to creep back into the concept of me starting a new weight loss program. This is encouraging, let me tell you.

It’s pretty obvious to me that, if I’m going to head down the path of modifying my behavior, I need a plan and, since I don’t fancy the thought of having electrodes attached to sensitive parts of my body so shocks can be delivered every time I act improperly, I guess hypnosis would be the logical choice.

Ok… that settles it. hypnosis it is!! If I can just get rid of this mental picture of me running around the room, hands stuck in my arm pits and flapping my imaginary wings while clucking like a chicken…. Boy, talk about patterened responses… have a rational thought.. get a silly picture.

Well, since “no meetings or sessions” is one of the criteria, it looks like I’ll be going with a self-hypnosis program and quelle surprise, there are more than a few to choose from. Ok, research I am good at. I’ll be back tomorrow to let you know if I chose one.